Tsar Nicholas II’s Incompetence

The rising ideas of the Pan-Slav movement had led Russia to issue treaties of protection to Serbia. Nicholas wanted neither to abandon Serbia to the ultimatum of Austria-Hungary, nor to provoke a general war. In a series of letters exchanged with the German Kaiser (the so-called "Willy and Nicky correspondence") the two proclaimed their desire for peace, and each attempted to get the other to back
down. Nicholas took concrete measures in this regard, demanding that Russia's mobilization be only against the Austrian border, in the hopes of preventing war with the German Empire. It proved too late for personal communications to determine the course of events. The Russians had no contingency plans for a partial mobilization, and on July 31, 1914, Nicholas, under political pressure from abroad, and military pressure at home, took the fateful step of confirming the order for a general mobilisation. As Germany and Austria-Hungary had mutual defence treaties in place, this led almost immediately to a German mobilization and declaration of war, and the outbreak of World War I.

The outbreak of war on August 1, 1914, found Russia grossly unprepared, yet an immediate attack was ordered against the German province of East Prussia. The Germans mobilized there with great efficiency and completely defeated the two Russian armies which had invaded. The Russian armies, however, later had considerable success against both the Austro-Hungarian armies and against the forces of the Ottoman Empire.

Gradually a war of attrition set in on the vast Eastern Front, where the Russians were facing the combined forces of the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, and they suffered staggering losses. Nicholas, feeling that it was his duty, and that his personal presence would inspire his troops, decided to
lead his army directly. He assumed the role of commander-in-chief after dismissing his uncle from that position, the highly respected and experienced Nikolai Nikolaevich (September 1915) following the loss of the Russian Kingdom of Poland.

His efforts to oversee the war left domestic issues essentially in the hands of Alexandra. As a German she was unpopular, and the Duma was constantly calling for political reforms. Political unrest continued throughout the war. Cut off from public opinion, Nicholas did not understand how suspicious the common people were of his wife, who was also the victim of destructive rumours about her dependence
on Grigori Rasputin. Nicholas had refused to censor the press and wild rumours and accusations about Alexandra and Rasputin appeared almost daily.

All of the incompetenceies of Tsar Nicholas II had accumulated and would ultimately lead to the beginning of the Russian Revolution and his forced abdication of the throne.